Ken Skates says ALN funding dispute forced Labour to reject budget
New Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates said he regretted that his party could not support the Welsh Government’s supplementary budget that reallocated £344 million of ALN funding elsewhere.
While the Green party members of the Senedd backed the minority Plaid Cymru Government’s interim budget, without Labour support it did could not secure a majority.
“It is deeply regrettable that Plaid Cymru were not able to pass their supplementary budget,” said Mr Skates, Senedd member for Fflint Wrecsam.
“This isn’t the outcome we wanted, but it’s clear that the funding offered for additional learning needs simply wasn’t enough.
“We urged the Plaid Cymru Government to withdraw their supplementary budget, negotiate with the teaching unions and bring back another supplementary budget in the summer with more investment for additional learning needs.
“It’s unfortunate that this was not the approach they took, but there’s still time to negotiate and bring back new proposals.”
Before the last Senedd election every local authority in Wales was told it would receive a significant share of a £344m pot of ‘consequential’ funding from UK Government.
In Wrexham alone £12m was expected this financial year to pay off debts accrued by almost 30 schools through – in part – supporting ALN pupils.
Welsh Government will also receive a further £200m next year for the same reason – making the total pot £544m.
That money was given by Westminster to allow Welsh councils to pay off deficits caused by the increased demand for additional learning needs support – giving Welsh schools parity with their English counterparts who recently had their ALN debts written off.
But as she presented her supplementary budget to the Senedd, Welsh Government’s Cabinet Minister for Finance Elin Jones MS said that it was for Welsh politicians to decide how that money was spent.
“I understand that members have sought to pursue the allocation of £344 million consequential funding for the debt write-off to English local authorities as a result of ALN historical overspend,” she told the Senedd.
“This Government has sought to engage constructively on that issue. I would expect us all to agree that it is for Welsh Ministers and this Senedd to decide how the Welsh budget is spent.
“Nothing should be presumed for Wales from an allocation happening in England to deal with English matters.
“We have listened to calls made by parties in this Senedd, councils and schools to increase the allocation for ALN this year and have been developing a strategic approach to tackling fundamental challenges as well as responding to immediate pressures.
“On the table in real-time in this chamber is £40m this financial year of additional funding for additional learning needs. This will be followed by £40m next year and the following year to provide some certainty to the sector.”
That would work out at 1.8m per year per authority in Wales – far short of the £12m originally expected by Wrexham Council this year to address the deficit position schools are facing.
It is also significantly less than the average £24.7m of additional funding every Welsh local authority could have potentially received over two years had the funding simply been passed on.
If the money were distributed evenly, Wrexham’s potential allocation this year would not have even covered last year’s budget deficits at Darland High School and the Maelor School.
Newly appointed Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates had previously warned that his party would not help push this budget through unless the ALN funding issue was resolved.
“In all our discussions, funding for additional learning needs has been a top priority for Welsh Labour.
“Both the school leaders’ unions in Wales, NAHT Cymru and ASCL Cymru, notified the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language that they are formally declaring a trade dispute with the Welsh Government.
“This is both unprecedented and deeply regrettable. Less than 100 days into government, Plaid Cymru find themselves in chaos, unable to work collaboratively.
“We hope that they will resolve these issues with teaching unions and bring back another supplementary budget in the summer.”
Fflint Wrecsam Conservative MS Sam Rowlands said he understood that Welsh Government had the freedom to decide how to spend its own money, but wanted a greater explanation of where exactly this £344m was going.
“We recognise that the principle that consequentials do not have to be spent in the same way as funding allocated in England is important,” he said.
“The Cabinet Minister told us that this one-off consequential has been absorbed into wider budget management. That inevitably raises questions about how allocations enabled by this one-off consequential will be managed in future years, when that funding is no longer available.”
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “The decision to declare a trade dispute is not one we take lightly.
“This is about ensuring Welsh schools have the workforce and funding needed to ensure all children get the education they deserve.”
ASCL’s general secretary Pepe Di’lasio added: “Our members in Wales are not prepared to sit by while children with Additional Learning Needs miss out on funding which should be invested in supporting them.
“Schools are on their knees trying to deliver provision for all children – and particularly those facing the greatest challenges in their lives – without adequate funding from the Welsh Government.”
By Alec Doyle – BBC Local Democracy Reporter
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